Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the nine ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $115.50.

ANF has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $220.00 to $170.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $135.00 to $98.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $115.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, March 9th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Abercrombie & Fitch from $190.00 to $125.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 6th.

Abercrombie & Fitch Price Performance

NYSE:ANF opened at $78.06 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $74.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $111.11. The stock has a market cap of $3.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.72 and a beta of 1.47. Abercrombie & Fitch has a 1-year low of $65.40 and a 1-year high of $196.99.

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 5th. The apparel retailer reported $3.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.48 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.57 billion. Abercrombie & Fitch had a net margin of 11.16% and a return on equity of 46.50%. Abercrombie & Fitch's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.97 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Abercrombie & Fitch will post 10.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Abercrombie & Fitch announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, March 5th that permits the company to buyback $1.30 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel retailer to buy up to 29.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Abercrombie & Fitch

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANF. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 30.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 415 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Virtue Capital Management LLC now owns 8,221 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $1,229,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 92.2% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 223 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,460 shares of the apparel retailer's stock valued at $816,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Abercrombie & Fitch by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 14,831 shares of the apparel retailer's stock worth $2,217,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter.

Abercrombie & Fitch Company Profile

Abercrombie & Fitch Co engages in the retail of apparel, personal care products, and accessories. The firm operates through following geographical segments: Americas, EMEA and APAC. The Americas segment includes operations in North America and South America. The EMEA segment includes operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

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